When is a guard of honour or ‘pasillo’ performed in soccer? Will Atlético do it against Real Madrid?

There is no love lost between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, especially from Atleti’s side. While Los Blancos normally find themselves preoccupied with outdoing Barcelona, Los Colchoneros’ sole focus is getting one over on their foes from across the city. After being defeated in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals in Saudi Arabia, Diego Simeone’s side have immediate chance for revenge in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday, although much of the pre-match chat has centred around their refusal to give their local rivals a guard of honour, known as a “pasillo” in Spanish.

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In soccer, guards of honour have been going on for as long as most of us can remember, although they only tend to come into the spotlight when one team has the chance to do it - or not - against another they don’t particularly like.

When does a guard of honour normally take place?

The guard of honour is, of course, seen as a traditional show of respect from Team A to Team B, which is theoretically supposed to be bigger than any rivalry. It might happen in the fixture after Team B has won a competition of note, or perhaps in the final game of the league season if the championship has already been decided. What constitutes a “competition of note”, though, could potentially be up for debate.

In terms of procedure, the players in Team A take to the field first and split into two parallel lines to form a “pasillo” (Spanish for “corridor,” if you weren’t aware), which the cup winners or league champions walk through as they emerge from the tunnel. A round of applause is customary, although the enthusiasm shown may depend on the identity of the teams.

There is no obligation for Team A to perform a guard of honour, although that will inevitably rub up Team B - and especially its fans, it would seem - the wrong way. Accusations of bitterness and a lack of respect, among other things, tend to follow, particularly when the trophy winners could potentially be honoured at the home of their rivals.

Clásico guards of honour

Most would agree there are few bigger rivalries in soccer than Real Madrid and Barcelona, but they have occasionally faced each other on an occasion when a guard of honour has been considered appropriate.

Barça have twice sucked it up and done one for their Clásico rivals, first in May 1988 at Camp Nou and most recently in May 2008 at the Bernabéu, on the both occasions just after Madrid had sealed the LaLiga title. In between, Los Merengues returned the favour at home in June 1991 in the inverse situation.

‘Pasillo” resistance from Madrid and Barça in recent years

Things, however, have been less civil between the two in recent years, at least when it comes to “pasillos”. Barcelona refused to perform one in December 2017 in Los Blancos’ first game after winning the FIFA Club World Cup, with director Guillermo Amor saying they wouldn’t be honouring a team that had won a competition they hadn’t been involved in.

That then led to Real Madrid also opting out later that same season at Camp Nou when the Catalans had just sewn up the league title. On that occasion, Barça ended up doing a guard of honour for themselves, with backroom staff involved, just to add to the fanfare.

Atlético boss Simeone: “We respect our people first and foremost”

In his pre-match press conference before Thursday’s game, Atlético boss Diego Simeone revealed his team wouldn’t be performing a guard of honour before the Copa del Rey clash to “honour” Los Merengues’ Spanish Super Cup win, which won’t come as a surprise to most given they also refused in May 2022, when Carlo Ancelotti’s team visited Estadio Metropolitano just after winning the league.

“Nothing has changed from last time. We always have great respect for the opposition coach and players as colleagues, but our people always come first. We respect them first and foremost.”

Not that counterpart Ancelotti was especially bothered. “If they do it, perfect. If not, also perfect.” The Italian, however, suggest things might be different if the roles were reversed. “Everyone can do what they want. Real Madrid do things differently and when we have the chance to choose what we want to do, we’ll do it”.

You can follow live text coverage of Atlético-Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey on AS USA.